Well, Jay is usually the wordsmith for Fractal Garden, but he was kind enough to let me introduce this tune as he knows just how special it is to me. When Brighter Days was at its beginnings, we knew that it was going to be a gem on our c.d. project "Pangaea". It combines some of my favorite acoustic work by Jay along with some pad work of which I was particularly proud. We waited until we could find just the right singer to fit this song. Choirbox fit this so perfectly and, in my opinion, she hit this one out of the park. Her moving lyrics and amazing voice transformed this tune and reworked it into something truly special to not just me, but all of us that worked on this production. She is also showcasing her talents on the flute here and did a phenomenal job.

Jay did an A+ job on the production end and received invaluable advice on this tune's production from Choirbox as well.

As with almost all the Fractal Garden tunes, James Moore has been the most consistent member, coming through for us time and time again. Thanks, James. This song would have never happened if you didn't come through with what I think are the perfect drums for this song.

Brighter Days
I wish you'd stay, but I know this is goodbye
The sun shone on us for an hour or two
So take my hand and we'll watch the sky fall in for one last time
and remember falling too

I close my eyes to hide my selfish tears
I try to calm my quivering lips and whisper in your ear...
"You'll be alright
The day seems short, but your light will last forever
Don't be afraid tonight
It's okay to say goodbye"

How could one night be so long
This empty house still echoing your song
If the stars could sing tonight,
They'd call your name
This darkness seems to linger on,
But there'll be brighter days
I heard you say there'll be brighter days

I wish you'd stayed
It's so hard to say goodbye
The sun rose high and I remembered you
I held your hand until the sky fell in
Oh how I fell for you

The song image is John's original fractal artwork, and the thumbnail you see above doesn't even kind of show it off. Hopefully this will:

The song image is John's original fractal artwork, and the thumbnail you see above doesn't even kind of show it off. Hopefully this will:
[IMG]http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l145/FractalGarden/Brighter-Days-artMED.jpg[/IMG]

Lush production tenders the excellent playing and sensitive singing very attractively. The song is well put together with lots going on and plenty of variety in arrangement. The vocal harmonies come in just right and the synth(?) rise closes the deal. Transcendent outro.

Lush production tenders the excellent playing and sensitive singing very attractively. The song is well put together with lots going on and plenty of variety in arrangement. The vocal harmonies come in just right and the synth(?) rise closes the deal. Transcendent outro.

Now this is what I'm talking about. When a band takes chances and does something like this- I am ecstatic. And the song is so awesome too! Exquisite composition.

This song is sonically perfect. The intro is wonderful.

John I love the strings on this one.
Jay, as usual you keep raising the bar for all of us.
James- top notch as always.
Choirbox- as always your singing is just wonderful and expressive in just the prefect subtle ways.

Definitely one of the best FG songs. The last 3 songs have definitely raided the bar for you guys.

Obviously the sky's the limit.

Now this is what I'm talking about. When a band takes chances and does something like this- I am ecstatic. And the song is so awesome too!;-) Exquisite composition.
This song is sonically perfect. The intro is wonderful.
John I love the strings on this one.
Jay, as usual you keep raising the bar for all of us.
James- top notch as always.
Choirbox- as always your singing is just wonderful and expressive in just the prefect subtle ways.
Definitely one of the best FG songs. The last 3 songs have definitely raided the bar for you guys.
Obviously the sky's the limit.

Yeah DGO, Choirbox was an excellent choice for this track. Her lyrics and vocal stylings are sublime. Sounds wonderful on good 'phones too. I love James' versatility. One day I would love to see him play live. Jay's production is improving for sure - you really see this when one works with him. You should be proud of this on many levels and of course that artwork is gorgeous.

Yeah DGO, Choirbox was an excellent choice for this track. Her lyrics and vocal stylings are sublime. Sounds wonderful on good 'phones too. I love James' versatility. One day I would love to see him play live. Jay's production is improving for sure - you really see this when one works with him. You should be proud of this on many levels and of course that artwork is gorgeous.

I like this one very much!!
Good mix of instruments and is well put together.
love the guitar sweeping in and out,vocals push the song along nice lots of sweet sounds here and there and love that deep pad work in the background too like the drums nice live feel there, i know its rock but would of liked the kick with more thickness and double tracked but its good straight down the middle just the same,i reckon the vocals could be sharper maybe some eq and doubled tracked to give it more sound field but its rock and is good straight down the middle.i am giving you 5 on production,i know how hard it is to mix on GB!
Top job on everything its got a good feel to this and thanx for the download too
Thanx for sharing
Ian R

I like this one very much!!
Good mix of instruments and is well put together.
love the guitar sweeping in and out,vocals push the song along nice lots of sweet sounds here and there and love that deep pad work in the background too like the drums nice live feel there, i know its rock but would of liked the kick with more thickness and double tracked but its good straight down the middle just the same,i reckon the vocals could be sharper maybe some eq and doubled tracked to give it more sound field but its rock and is good straight down the middle.i am giving you 5 on production,i know how hard it is to mix on GB!
Top job on everything its got a good feel to this and thanx for the download too :)
Thanx for sharing
Ian R

Dreamy and Etherial... dark and subdued... Your voice is excellent, and you really pay attention to melody and how melody effects the listener... you sing the emotion... the smattering of harmony is perfect...

very impressive work... your performane really sells the song... and it doesn't hurt that you have this lush production to sing over...

Dreamy and Etherial... dark and subdued... Your voice is excellent, and you really pay attention to melody and how melody effects the listener... you sing the emotion... the smattering of harmony is perfect...
very impressive work... your performane really sells the song... and it doesn't hurt that you have this lush production to sing over...

"Gem" is correct. This is absolutely gorgeous, evoking such charming bands as Jars of Clay, Cranberries and Toad the Wet Sprocket. I have a tremendous soft spot for pop-rock, and this song fills it quite nicely.

The backing pads compliment the guitars beautifully but also give ChoirBox's flute ample room to seduce the listener. Add that to a crystal clear mix job and we have something truly beautiful.

"Gem" is correct. This is absolutely gorgeous, evoking such charming bands as Jars of Clay, Cranberries and Toad the Wet Sprocket. I have a tremendous soft spot for pop-rock, and this song fills it quite nicely.
The backing pads compliment the guitars beautifully but also give ChoirBox's flute ample room to seduce the listener. Add that to a crystal clear mix job and we have something truly beautiful.